Learning to Walk
by KatherineHowardRose
Summary: SLOW UPDATES Helga and Arnold thought that the hard part was over, but it's just beginning. After a sweet summer of baby bliss, they have to face life as parents while going to college. Arnold soon realizes that life doesn't always have a bright side. Helga struggles to keep it together, but everyone has a breaking point.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello my readers! I know that I took a bit of a hiatus between stories, but I'm back and ready to get back on the typewriter. This is the sequel to "Helga's Baby." I hope you all enjoy it.**

Chapter One

The bus hit a pothole, jolting Arnold from his thoughts. His pocket buzzed, and he pulled out his phone. The screen read a text from Helga. He flipped the phone open and saw a photo of Angie smiling with the caption "Have a good day at school daddy!" He smiled and put his phone away.

Arnold had enjoyed the summer relaxing with Helga and their new baby Angelina. Helga was eager to learn from Stella, absorbing advice every chance she had. Angelina was growing fast, her chubby little arms and legs were eager to explore.

Helga, at first, had been excited to go out and about with Angelina, taking her in the stroller for walks and running errands. What would start as a pleasant afternoon, usually devolved into Helga coming home in a sour mood. Arnold joined Helga for a few of the trips outdoors and realized the painful animosity toward teen parents. Helga would swallow her rage as she walked past adult women. Some would stare, glaring at Helga, others would make comments.

One such afternoon, Arnold convinced Helga to go on a picnic. He thought that Angelina would enjoy seeing the park. When they arrived, several other families were present, flying kites and walking with their children. Arnold spread out the blanket while Helga took Angelina out of the stroller.

"You know, football head, this might be a nice day after all." She smiled at Angelina and kissed her forehead.

Arnold smiled and helped Helga sit down. Angie was placed on her stomach on the blanket, she immediately grabbed a large fistful of grass.

"No, no, Angie." Helga dislodged the infant's hand. "Here, let's play with this instead."

Angie started to cry as Helga took the grass away and gave her some plastic keys to play with. A mother walking down the path with her five year old boy scoffed at them.

"I guess child services isn't watching as closely these days..." she muttered as she shook her head.

Helga jumped to her feet, growling. "What did you say?"

Arnold tried to get Helga to sit back down. "Just ignore her..."

"Such hostility." The woman had a hint of a smile on her lips. "Poor thing is probably abused."

"How dare you!" Helga was about to lunge for the woman when Arnold ensnared Helga's arm.

He drew her in, preventing her from attacking the woman. "Ignore her, sweetheart. She's just trying to make you upset." He whispered in her ear.

The woman jerked her son's hand, dragging him behind her as she walked off with a smug look on her face. Helga was trembling against Arnold.

"Shh..." he loosened his grip. "Let's forget about it. Don't you want Angie to have a nice time at the park?"

Defeated, Helga nodded. She slumped and they sat down again. Angie was still crying, upsetted by the yelling. Helga bit her lip and took the baby into her arms, rocking her gently.

"I'm a good mother..." she whispered. "I love her..."

After that, Arnold and Helga rarely went out for a family afternoon without either Stella or Miles, or both. They found that adults were less likely to lash out with another adult present. The stress made it more difficult for Arnold to hide his growing resentment. Helga started her classes at Barnard College the same week that he started at Hillwood Community College. Stella had already been pushing "help wanted" ads at him and sending him emails about job opportunities she saw.

Arnold sighed and threw his backpack over his shoulder. He exited the bus with several other students. The Hillwood Community College was a large, squat, brick building with dingy glass doors. He let the tide of people sweep him inside. The hallways were labeled, showing him the way to his English class in the "B" corridor. The room was cramped with too many desks. The yellow florescent lighting made Arnold's eyes hurt, and the buzz drilled into his brain. Other students had already taken their seats, many claiming the back rows. Arnold slumped into a desk, settling for the middle row.

The grim surroundings made the burning in Arnold's stomach worse. _I bet Helga's classes are way nicer than this. I feel like we're in the janitor's closet or something._

Their teacher walked in, a hunched man with a faded tweed jacket and brown corduroy pants. He was balding. The remaining hair at his temples was a mix of brown and grey. He shuffled up to his desk and arranged his papers. He adjusted his glasses, then turned to the board and wrote "Mr. Farnell" with blue marker. He turned back to the class.

"I will be teaching you English one. This counts as a transferable general ed credit." Mister Farnell pulled a stack of papers from his briefcase. "This is the course syllabus. We will be going over this and discussing your first assignment."

Groans erupted as the papers were passed out. Arnold took out a pencil and started scanning the syllabus. It was the usual fair, talking about grades, late assignments, and absences. He half listened to Mister Farnell read the syllabus word for word.

Arnold scanned the room in his peripheral vision, and saw that his classmates were equally bored. A brunette girl chewed her gum with loud pops while texting on her pink phone. A guy with a red baseball cap had his headphones draped around his neck and drew doodles of lizards on his syllabus. The other students were also busy playing with electronic devices or obviously not paying attention. Mister Farnell either didn't seem to notice, or care, or both.

_Why am I here?_ Arnold ran his hand through his hair. Another paper was passed out, a packet about all the assignments they would have to complete, and when they were due. _How did I end up here? These are the idiots who nearly flunked out of high school...why did I work so hard?_

Class was let out early, and Arnold was sucked out of the classroom along with his other classmates. He listened to the chatter in the hallway, people exchanging phone numbers, and talking about parties that would take place that evening. Arnold tried to ignore them, while thinking to himself how crazy it was that people were having parties on a Monday night.

"Hey there."

Arnold jumped. The brunette who was chewing gum in his class was walking next to him. She smiled and popped her gum.

"Whatcha up to? Got another class?"

He shook his head. "No, I was just heading home."

She kept pace with him. "You goin' to the party tonight?"

"What?" Arnold shook his head. "No...I have stuff to do..."

"Like what?" She followed him out to the bus stop. "Better party?"

_What is with this girl?_ Arnold sighed, trying not to let his annoyance show. "No. I have stuff at home I have to take care of."

The brunette pulled out a little notepad from her pocket, she was wearing baggy pants with deep pockets. From the look, Arnold suspected they were actually men's pants. "Here," she scribbled something and tore out the page, handing him the scrap of paper, "text me if you wanna come to the party tonight."

Arnold took it, making a mental note to throw it away later. "Um, thanks."

She stuffed the notepad back into her pocket and waved over her shoulder. "We're goin' to Tank's tonight. Gunna be real wild! Later, stud!"

He stared at her as she skipped back toward the building, not even giving him a second look. The bus rolled up, and Arnold looked back down at the paper. It was a real phone number. He looked back at the school before stuffing the paper in his pocket and boarding the bus. He paid his fare and sat down.

Arnold pulled the paper out again, then pulled out his phone. He entered in the number. _Maybe it'll be fun._ He shrugged to himself and stuffed his phone and the paper back into his pocket. _It's just a party._ His mind drifted to Helga. _Maybe I should get rid of this...she might get the wrong idea..._ He took the paper out of his pocket, crumpled it up, and dropped it on the bus floor. He looked out the window again. _It's just a party...I'm allowed to have fun._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The boarders were in the living room, killing time before dinner. Arnold sighed and trudged past, hoping that they wouldn't notice him. He was in no mood for their insanity. Not tonight anyway. He almost made it to the stairs when Phil spotted him.

"Hey, Shortman!" He waved from the couch. "How did school go?"

Arnold rolled his eyes, then sighed. "I have a lot of homework to do...I'll be upstairs."

"Homework on the first day!" Phil exclaimed. "What kind of teachers have they got at that school?"

Arnold ignored him, walking past the nursery. The door was closed. He sighed, happy that he didn't have to sneak past Helga. He climbed the stairs to his loft, but when he opened the door, he saw Helga laying on his bed, reading a book.

She set the book down and sat up. "Oh, hey! How did it go?"

"Fine." Arnold tossed his backpack and sat down on the couch.

Helga's face fell. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm just tired." Arnold kicked his shoes off.

She sat on the edge of the bed, watching as Arnold dug around in his backpack. She looked down at her feet. Arnold remained silent, retrieving a notebook and pencil. He laid back on the couch and started scribbling in the notebook, pretending to be working. Helga chewed on her lip.

The baby monitor crackled, making them both jump. They could hear Angelina hiccuping, then start to cry. Helga sighed and lifted herself off the bed. She looked over at Arnold, then went down the stairs to the nursery, shutting the door behind her.

Arnold listened to her footsteps recede. He put the notebook down, and sighed. _What's wrong with me? It's not her fault..._ He rubbed his face. _Why do I feel this way?_

He followed Helga down to the nursery. His hand rested on the doorknob. Arnold took a deep breath and opened the door, unsure of what he would say. Helga was sitting in the rocking chair, breastfeeding Angelina. He ran his hand through his hair. Helga looked up at him.

"Oh! Is something the matter?"

Her concern hurt. He sighed. "No...I just..." he shrugged. "I'm sorry..."

Helga's brow furrowed. "Sorry for what?"

Arnold leaned against the doorway. "I'm just in a bad mood, and I'm sorry."

She sighed. "I know..."

They remained silent. Arnold leaning against the door frame, and Helga sitting in the rocking chair. She burped Angelina, then put the contented baby back to bed. Helga shut off the nursery light. She stood near the doorway, unsure of what to do.

Arnold put his arms around her. She was warm and soft; smelling of laundry and the sweet pea lotion she liked to use. His fingers dug into her doughy flesh. Helga had gained weight during her pregnancy, and it was still sticking around. He found that he rather liked it when he held her.

Helga stiffened at first, then wrapped her arms around his neck. She rested her head on his shoulder. _I'll help you get there, my love. I'll find a way to afford that school you want to attend so badly...I'll find a way..._ She kissed his cheek.

The two headed down to the dining room for dinner. Stella was making beef stew and garlic bread. The rich aroma attracted everyone in the boarding house. Soon the table was full of chattering and laughter.

"So, Arnold, how was school?" Suzie asked.

He shrugged. "It's just community college..." he fiddled with his fork, "We didn't really do much..."

Suzie's face fell. "Well, that's..."

"Gave him homework and everything!" Phil interrupted, giggling, "no wonder he's in a bad mood. Eh, Shortman?"

Arnold sighed. "Yeah...thanks, Grandpa..."

"Don't you start class at that fancy-pants college tomorrow, Helga?" Ernie asked.

Helga nodded. "I don't start until Wednesday. I'm really looking forward to it." She smiled. "I have Renaissance Lit and Shakespeare Studies."

Ernie scoffed. "Woah, we got a scholar over here!"

The table erupted into laughter. Helga looked down at her plate, embarrassed. Arnold fought to ignore them. The conversation was interrupted when Stella and Miles brought dinner to the table. Once everyone was seated, the boarders attacked the food.

"How was your day?" Stella asked, smiling at Arnold.

He ladled soup into his bowl. "Fine."

Stella and Miles looked at each other. Miles passed the garlic bread, and tried again. "Well, didn't you have English today? Was your teacher nice?"

Arnold shrugged. "Yeah, I guess...kinda boring. But that's the way class is."

"That's why I didn't go to school, ehehe!" Oskar laughed. "It's so boring, but I turned out just fine!"

"Oskar!" Suzie shushed him.

Helga sat quietly, listening to the conversation fly around the table. She looked over and saw Arnold's gloomy face. She wanted to take his hand under the table, but she was afraid he would become more angry. She sighed and stirred her soup.

Stella put a generous portion of garlic bread on Helga's plate. "Eat up, dear. If you don't eat enough, you won't be able to provide for the baby."

"Thank you." Helga muttered, taking a bite of the bread.

Miles chuckled. "I can't wait for Angie to start talking, won't that be fun?"

"That won't be for a while, dear." Stella smiled. "We should enjoy her every step of the way."

Phil chuckled. "It's so great having a baby again! Why, I remember when Arnold was just a little scamp! Throwing his food at the table!"

Pookie raised her spoon above her head. "And lo, the child shall command the army of fairies, and take back the lowlands!"

Arnold pushed his chair away from the table. Everyone watched as he got up, and left the room. They were silent as the front door opened, then slammed shut. Helga cringed at the sound. The noise rose again as everyone speculated and questioned.

_This is all my fault..._Helga swallowed. _Why did they have to rub it in? It's bad enough that I'm going to the school I wanted..._ she sighed. _I'll spend more time writing tomorrow. I need to start looking at publishers...I shouldn't have read that book today...What am I doing?_

Arnold tromped down the block. He was glad that he had the sense to grab his jacket, it was chilly. There were few people out that evening, most were inside eating dinner. He reached the park. Arnold went inside, walking slower. His eyes on the path a few feet ahead of him.

_What is their problem? I'm doing the best I can! It's not like I wanted this..._

He looked up. His feet had carried him to the spot where they had gone for picnics early in the summer. Arnold sighed. The grassy space under the tree looked dark and lonely. He sat down on a nearby bench and closed his eyes. He could hear the crickets chirping. A frog croaked somewhere in the water. He leaned back and looked up at the sky. The velvety blue expanse revealed no stars.

_Where will we go from here? If I can't even get into a good school, what is there for me?_

Arnold put his hands in the pockets of his coat. He felt his phone, and pulled it out. He remembered the brunette's offer. He clenched the phone.

_I need to clear my head..._ he opened his contacts and searched for the new number. _Helga can't go anyway. She's still not allowed to drink...it wouldn't be any fun for her..._ he texted the brunette. _I'll just go. It'll be fine._

-Hey. Party still on?-

After a few moments, his phone chirped.

-hell yeah dude! cum 2 2300 w cherry st-

Arnold stared at his phone, his thumbs hovering over the keyboard. He took a deep breath and smiled.

-Cool! See u there!-


End file.
